Lufthansa Cabin Crew May Start Warning Strikes

Lufthansa flight attendants could stage warning strikes in the next few days and weeks over a pay dispute, the Independent Flight Attendant Organisation (UFO) union said on Sunday.

UFO broke off a third unsuccessful round of negotiations on Friday. The union is calling for a wage and benefits rise of 15 percent for 12 months for around 16,000 employees at Lufthansa and other group airlines.

Lufthansa on Friday upped its offer to a rise of up to 10 percent from 9.1 percent. The package includes better work conditions and profit sharing.

The German airline called on UFO to return to the negotiating table and face up to "economic realities".

Passenger numbers have dwindled as the financial crisis has escalated, prompting Lufthansa in October to cut its 2008 operating profit goal to EUR1.1 billion euros (USD$1.46 billion) from a previous estimate of around the 2007 level of EUR1.38 billion.

A union dispute would come at an inauspicious time for the carrier. In previous wage rounds, the announcement of warning strikes led to a decline in bookings. It was still unclear at the weekend to what extent and how Lufthansa was bracing for possible cabin crew action.

"Obviously, we always try to reduce the impact on passengers," a company spokeswoman said on Sunday.

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